Updated 22:21:45 (Mla time)
TJ Burgonio
Inquirer
http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/08/28/html_output/xmlhtml/20070827-85017-xml.html
MANILA, Philippines -- Catholic Bishop Ramon Villena has appealed to indigenous people, a mining firm and environment officials to sit down for a dialogue to break the impasse over a mining project in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.
Tension has been building up in the upland town after the tribal folk barricaded the road leading to the Oxiana Philippines Inc.'s exploration site in Pao Village.
There are fears a clash could break out once the police serves a local court order prohibiting the villagers from further barricading the road.
“I strongly call on the people concerned, the Oxiana Philippines, the MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau) and DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), the provincial government and the Kired members to come to a dialogue and listen to one another respecting each other's inherent rights, responsibilities and accountabilities,'' Villena said.
Kired or the Kasibu Inter-tribal Response Toward Ecological Development is composed of residents opposed to the project.
The bishop of the diocese of Bayombong said that Oxiana Philippines has revived exploration activities in Pao without prior consultation, a prerequisite in the Indigenous People's Rights Act.
“The people are against the exploration activities of Oxiana Philippines in the area,'' he said in a statement.
The bishop said that while Oxiana claimed to possess “legal instruments'' that would legitimize their entry to Pao, the indigenous' people's rights could not be ignored.
“But what about the voice of the people? Will we close our ears to their cry and continue with the mining activities in utter disregard of their voice? This is the land of the indigenous peoples,'' he said.
“This land is their life, that's why it is called 'ancestral domain'. This is the land of their forefathers that will be handed down to their children's children.''
Villena said that the land did not belong to the Australian mining firm and accused it of “using investors money to extract minerals until they reach the bottom of the pit.''
“They will just leave the place and the land is gone, green has turned brown and gray, rivers have been silted heavily and worst of all, we are left with divided families, culture is gone, compounded social problems, and a groaning environment,'' he said.
The tribal leaders have vowed to continue blocking the road since it straddles a private land owned by one of those opposing the mining project.
The number of protesters, mostly tribal villagers from Pao, Paquet, Kakidugen, Biyoy, Cataraoan, Camamasi and Dine, has been growing for the past several days, especially in the aftermath of the issuance of the court order.
The villagers, composed of Bugkalot, Kalanguya and Ifugao, have been vocal about their opposition to the mining project, citing hazards to the environment and the population.
They questioned Oxiana's exploration permit issued in 2000.
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